Song of the Day: I Don't Cares - King of America

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “King of America” by the I Don't Cares from the 2015 single King of America, on Dry Wood Music.

I Don't Cares - King of America (MP3)

Who better to encapsulate the slackerdom of '90s rock than Paul Westerberg of The Replacements and Juliana Hatfield? And what better name for this newfound duo than the I Don't Cares?

Not a lot of details exist online about how this twosome came to be, but Hatfield is an admitted longtime Replacements fan and wrote extensively about Westerberg's influence in her 2008 autobiography, When I Grow Up: A Memoir. Hatfield was slated to open for Westerberg on his very first solo tour following The Replacements break-up, but then he threw out his back, canceling all dates. It took them nearly twenty years, but they're finally teaming up.

For a band called the "I Don't Cares," it's no surprise that they have no social media presence, but you can follow Juliana on Twitter here. No word on a release date for their debut full-length, Wild Stab, but in the meantime, check out this in-studio session from The Juliana Hatfield Three in the KEXP studios last March: